RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE 10 November 1999
CYPRUS FOR BANKING, GREECE FOR SAFE HAVEN? Following a number
of reports that well-known Russian politicians and
businessmen, some with criminal ties, have Greek passports,
the Greek government has ordered an inquiry into the matter,
AFP reported on 9 November. Russian election commission
officials discovered that both Sergei Mikhailov, whose alias
in organized crime circles is allegedly "Mikhas," and
Krasnoyarsk Aluminum head Anatolii Bykov have dual Greek-
Russian citizenship (see "RFE/RL Russian Federation Report,"
10 November 1999). Bykov was arrested by Hungarian
authorities on an international warrant for money laundering
and other charges. A prominent foe of Bykov, Krasnoyarsk Krai
Governor Aleksandr Lebed, also has a Greek passport and
drivers' license. According to "Kommersant-Daily" on 9
November, other Russian citizens with Greek passports include
three members of a crime group based in Kurgan Oblast, one
accused murderer, and one embezzler. JAC
SLOVAK DEPUTY PREMIER PRAISES HUNGARIAN COALITION
PARTICIPATION... Deputy Premier Pavol Hamzik told journalists
on 9 November that the presence in the government of the
Hungarian Coalition (SMK) has contributed greatly to the
cabinet's success. Hamzik said the SMK's participation has
"erased the nationalist scarecrow" and made life more
difficult for those who wish to "manipulate" the electorate
by means of "Hungaro-phobia." Hamzik added that the SMK
itself has benefited from its participation in the cabinet
because it had to "change its style" and work for promoting
the interests of all Slovaks--not just those of the Hungarian
minority. MS
...AS SLOVAK NATIONALISTS PROVOKE ANTI-HUNGARIAN INCIDENT.
Slovak National Party (SNS) deputy and honorary chairman
Vitazoslav Moric and several other SNS members shouted
insults at participants in a 9 November ceremony at the grave
of 1848 Hungarian revolution hero Gyorgy Lahner in the
village of Necpaly, central Slovakia, CTK reported. Hungarian
Ambassador to Slovakia Miklos Boros was among those taking
part in the ceremony, which the SNS constantly interrupted by
singing Slovak nationalist songs. Moric said that for
Slovakia, 1848 signifies the beginning of the era of
"flagrant Magyarization." They also objected to the fact that
the ceremony was conducted in the Hungarian language. Deputy
Premier Pal Csaky of the SMK described the incident as
"undiplomatic, unjustifiable, and...offensive." MS
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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE 11 November 1999
SLOVAK PREMIER UPBEAT ON EU CHANCES. Mikulas Dzurinda said on
10 November in Berlin that despite its exclusion from the EU
enlargement process from 1996-1998, Slovakia has made great
strides in its efforts to join the union, TASR reported.
Dzurinda, speaking at a panel discussion with the premiers of
Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, said his country's
main goal is fulfilling the economic criteria necessary to
join the EU. He added that he is pleased that a majority of
Slovaks support the country's joining the EU and NATO, saying
that some 65 percent of citizens favor EU entry and only 25
percent are opposed. PB
HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN BERLIN. Viktor Orban failed to persuade
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Foreign Minister
Joschka Fischer to specify a timeframe for Hungary's
accession to the EU during meetings in Berlin on 11 November,
Hungarian media reported. Laying the foundation stone of a
new Hungarian embassy in Berlin, Orban said Hungary can be
considered a "full EU member economically, if not
politically." His hosts assured Orban that Germany supports
the admission of Hungary at the earliest possible date. MSZ
COURT PUTS HUNGARIAN VANDALS ON PROBATION. The Municipal
Court of the western Hungarian town of Szombathely on 10
November found two youths guilty of desecrating graves in a
Jewish cemetery. The court found that the two men had
intended to disrupt 3 July events commemorating the Holocaust
and had daubed Swastikas and Stars of David on several
tombstones the previous day. The court sentenced the first
defendant to one year in prison and the second to eight
months. The sentences were commuted to three years and two
years on probation, respectively. MSZ
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